Velarde 1 Jeramie Velarde

Jeramie Velarde

Camille Pack

English 2010-004 SP14

28 January 2014

Beehive State of Mind

For years I have heard claims; Utahans are most addicted to prescription drugs in the United States. I have heard that we have the highest percentage of plastic surgery and cosmetic operations in the country. Also rumors of Utahans viewing online pornography more than any other state. I have also heard we are the most depressed in the United States. If all of these statistics are true or even partially true, most of this must all stem from depression. Why would depression be so common in a state that is very clean? Why in a state dominated by a religionfull of nice and loving people, does depression seem to be so high in percentage? Some blame the very religion I was just admiring, as a non member.

Others blame the cold weather and the long winter months. It could be a combination of both theories. I recently asked a dozen friends and family about this subject and most blamed the religion, the weather and the pressures to grow up so early in Utah. Also it seems that it is a

Velarde 2 common assumption that people of Utah sweep problems under the carpet and ignores their problems.

A study conducted in by Mental Health America in 2007 claims that Utah is the most depressed in the United States. Metal Health America is the largest nonprofit mental health advocacy group in the country. (Thalmon) According to the MHA website, mentalhealthamerica.net Depression causes people to lose pleasure from daily life, can complicate other medical conditions, and can even be serious enough to lead to suicide. More proof to confirm that the people from Utah are fighting some kind of crazy battle with depression is the reliance of prescription drugs and the high numbers of people who are prescribed. According to Utah department of health; an average of 23 Utahans dies each month as a result of opioids. Utah ranks 8th highest in drug overdoses throughout the country, according to the same website.

In a more recent study UVU Professor Kris Doty turned the focus onto LDS women and the depression they might face, she goes on to blame the depression on what she describes as toxic perfectionismthey think they cant make a mistake and so they become hyper-active and anxious .(Lockhart) She goes on to explain five things that most these LDS women had in common; genetics, family relationship, history of abuse and feeling judged and striving for toxic perfection.(Lockhart) The average age of the 20 women interviewed and studied were 33 and at 19 of them took medication and 10 saw therapists.

Velarde 3 Teen suicide is also a serious problem in Utah, according to a 2006 article from the Deseret News; every 11 days a Utah teenager will take their own life. (Kinkead, Romboy) Utah leads the country in suicides of men between the ages of 15-24, according to the Utah Youth Suicide Study; 89% were male, 93 were Caucasian, and surprisingly only 3% were on medication and only 2% were currently receiving treatment.(Kinkead, Romboy) I looked on lds.org to see if they have solutions to fighting depression. In an article called when your child is depressed it listed some of the following ways to treat depression ; praying, applying lessons from scriptures, seeking counsel from bishop, and to seek assistance from qualified medical or clinical personal. (Brotheson)

I interviewed my father- in- law Dwayne Dean about his thoughts about depression in Utah. Dwayne is an active member within the LDS church, a returned missionary, and currently the 1st Counselor to the Bishop. I asked him, Do you feel young [LDS] people feel the need to grow up too fast? He responded with, No I feel the church does a great job of teaching the youth to be responsible adults. Later he stated that he interacts with more depressed people in public than he does within his ward. He says about his members, I see happy people, I see sad peopleI see people giving of their time and talents in serving others. He also points out Nevada, Wyoming and West Virginia being on the list of most depressed and none of these states have a high LDS population. I ended the interview by asking him, What do you think is the best way to approach the issue of depression in Utah? He concluded with, Depression in Utah is real. The cause is up for speculation. More public awareness will help.

Velarde 4 This brings up a very interesting key to this puzzle to look at; what about the non-members of the Mormon faith, could they be the ones walking around suffering with the blues? I could not find any studies that explored this. In my research all I found was blogs and discussion boards filled with very polar opinions. We cant assume that a city is depressed because of one religion. There are lots of factors that can cause someone feelings of depression. According to National Institute of Mental Health, the causes of depression are caused by genetics, biological, environmental, and psychological factors.

Another simple cause for depression within the LDS community might very well be something as trivial as the lack of coffee in a good Mormons diet. Bear with me please and let me explain, according to the word of wisdom the Lord has revealed hot drinks to be harmful. Latter-day prophets have thought them to be tea and coffee. (lds.org) Some research has shown coffee and tea actually helps fight peoples depression. Coffee's mood-lifting effect might be traced to its antioxidants.( Honglei Chen, PhD) According to a study that took 50,000 of women between the ages of 30-55 and had them share their coffee consumption. Drinking four cups a day was associated with the 20% of lower risk of depression.(Mcmillen)

Can we put the fault of depression on the weather in Utah? Although the state is cold and gloomy, certainly there are much colder places on earth and even in the country. Seasonal affective disorder ( SAD) is depression that can occur between the months of November and February and it can affect 5% of adults. (Bainum) One way we can look into the truth behind seasonal depression is by looking at examples of how happy Alaskans are. In a New York Times article it claims that 10% of Alaskans suffer from SAD.(Associated Press) In Northern Europe

Velarde 5 12 million people reported feelings of SAD, and 4 to 6 % of U.S. citizens reported having it.(Landau)

I think this subject needs many more studies, I feel it is common knowledge throughout the state that depression is a problem. It seems most people just repeat the statistics and blames this or blames that but I have yet to hear any solutions proposed by anyone. I think it is a jerk reaction for all of us to assume that high percentage of depression in Utah is caused by the Mormon Church. I am not a member but from what I gather from their teachings, it says nothing about being perfect, I havent ever heard a church leader or authority criticize mistakes, or telling its members they have to live up to an unrealistic standard. Of course I have only been to an LDS church only a few times in my life but I never got the sense that it was full of huge expectations. I think if anyone puts pressure on LDS members, its the members themselves, it might just be a keeping up with the Christiansens thing, that has causes this toxic perfectionism that I have heard and read about. I do not think this pressure is coming from the church itself. Besides Utahs population of non members is growing, so until we have a proper study to see who is the more depressed we cannot assume. I personally have had very strong bouts of depression throughout my life, like I mentioned I am not LDS so I cannot blame mine on the church. Mostly it accurse during the winter months but it has also shown its ugly face during spring and summer. So I cant even blame the season of winter. I have resorted to medication, meditation, therapy and even self medicated with alcohol. Now with four years of sobriety under my belt, I no longer take antidepressants but from time to time I still fight battles. Now I am equipped with the tools in my mind and therapists number stored in my phone it doesnt seem as hard as it once did. I can only speak for my depression, I think mostly it is genetic but also looking back I think some situations really elevated it. I think Utah can only be a combination of genetics, culture and

Velarde 6 weather. I dont think all the cups of coffee in the world will ever change that. I think the best way to treat any depression in any state, or in any case, is to begin with the conversation. As it was in my case, the best therapy was talking out loud about it. I think we as Utahans need to not only talk about it, we need to listen.

WORKS CITED Brotheson, Sean E. When Your Child is Depressed. August, 2004. Lds.org. Web

Bainum, Megan. November, 10 2010. USUstatesman.com.Web

Dean, Dwayne, personal interview. February, 08 2014. Email First, Amanda. The Drink that Fights Depression. September 26, 2011. Prevention.com. Web Landau, Elizabeth. SAD: When Season Change How You Feel. January 03, 2011. CNN.health. Web McMillen, Matt For Women, Risk of depression Falls as Coffee Intake Rises. September 26, 2011. CNN.health. Web

Velarde 7 Thalmon, James. Utah Leads the Nation in Rates of Depression Deseret News. November 28,2007. Desnews.com.Web The Associated Press In Alaska, Darkness and Depression Descend New York Times December 18, 2005. Newyorktimes.com. Web